Dispenser for drinking straws



Oct. 27, 1953 T. R. REECE DISPENSER FOR DRINKING STRAWS Filed July 20, 1950 nvelnl'or Theodarel? Re ece A Trek Patented Get. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES OF F ICE;

Application July 20, 1950,. S'erialhlo. 114,905 In Canada August}8,1.949.

1 Claims (Cl. 312-418)? Myrinvention relates to a dispenser for drinkaws, and has: for its. object the provision of; a ready means for handily ejecting only one suchlstraw ata. time, and: ejecting: it just sufll ciently sothat it may; be conveniently withdrawn. fromthe top of a straw container.

An advantage in my invention is that the unit is thoroughly hygienic, since the ingeniousness of the.- device permits only a single straw to be handled at. a time by a; person, and that in this process it is-nota matter of selecting a straw at random from a bundle: of straws but prevents the: possibilityof contamination from careless fingering of the straws.

A. further advantage is that the straw container is transparent providing; visibility of the straws in attractive colors, and for purposes of replenishing the container with straws.

A still further-advantage is that once a single strawis partly ejected from the container and read'y'for use-means are provided to keep the straw in its raised position after the ejecting mechanismisreleased, and at the same time it may be pushed down-Jinto-thecontainer ready for ejection again.

The. mechanism for operating. the ejection of a: straw is ofvery simple construction requiring few parts, and it is manipulated in an attractive manner, and needs no instructions.

The preferred material for the container and its cover is plastic or other similar composition readily moulded and shaped, and which may be accurately fabricated, and is semi-unbreakable and transparent, such features being essential when in use on restaurant and other counters for handling by the public.

Although this invented straw dispenser is susceptible of modifications as to shape, it is unnecessary to fully describe and illustrate more than one in order to give a full understanding of the invention both from its shape and functional standpoints. Accordingly I have illustrated a preferred and desirable embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and throughout the views of which like reference characters refer to the same parts.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary partly sectionalized view of the dispenser.

Fig. 2 is a plan view with cover and straw-supporting disk removed, and only a fragmentary portion of the base shown.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the cover and the annular ejection port.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

2.. Fig. 5 is an end view in elevation of the block supporting the ejection mechanism.

In: the drawings the-numeral] refers to a cyliinderpreferably' made of transparent plastic or" similar material, for containing a. number of" This cylindricar' drinking straws or; tubes la. straw container-has a removable cover. or lid" 2,

and; it restson a baseplatet, and is. maintained securely inan upright position by means of two: orymorej block members 4' on the base; plate over which; blocks the; bottom, open end" of the containerfits; and is fastened thereto by screws 5'.

as seenin Fig; 1.

A3 loosely fitting; straw-supporting disk 6 is disposedwithin the container I at a little more .1 A ring than a straw length from the cover 2. 1 isaffi'xed to the inside face of the container, and a second ring 8 issimilarly afilxed to the inside face of the container'above said ring. 1, in, spaced relationship therewith: between which rings the disk .6 may be loosely agitated asilater described;

Inside the lower. portion of" the container: It, and immediately below the disk 6, is a' block.

and uniformly downwardly from the outer peripheral edge to the center thereof, which center is apertured for the passage of the plunger In, and is shaped to form a downwardly protruding neck I3. It is due to the declination of the upper face of the disk 6 of approximately four to six degrees from a horizontal plane towards the center that the straws tend to bunch together towards the center of the plate, as a result of which one straw will always find its way to the center aperture and in position on the plunger point for raising thereby.

The same principle is adopted as regards the shape of the cover 2. This cover is inclined upwardly from its periphery towards the center thereof, which center is apertured for the ejection therethrough of the ejected straw. An annular ring i4 is ailixed above this aperture at.

project inwardly into the aperture. These pieces of rubber are to frictionally retain a straw of any diameter for holding same in its ejected position. The cover 2 is recessed at I6 peripherally for proper fitment on the top of the container I. r

In order to effect the raising action of the plunger IQ for ejecting a straw, a finger-manipulated lever 11 is fulcrumed on a pivot pin [8 mounted in and between two pedestals I9 attached to the base plate 3 exteriorly of the container I, and extends through slots 20 in the base end of the container, and through the said slot I2 in the plunger 10. Hand pressure on the extending end Ila of this long lever 11 will therefore raise the plunger 10 together with a straw on its top pointed end, and thus the straw will be ejected a distance sufficient for drawing out by hand. The lever I1 descends automati cally on release, and the straw remains above the cover unless later pushed down.

Cross pieces of plastic 2| are for securing the two halves of the block 9 together. A tappet rod. 22 is: made to strike the underneath face of the disk 6 in a more or less vibratory manner by means of a lever 23 swingably pivoted within a slot 24 in the base of the block 9. This rod reciprocates freely through a vertically holed passageway in the block and is weighted at 25 at its top end, and, rests on one short arm of the lever 23. The other longer arm of this lever 23 is lowered by plunger [0 as the long arm of lever I! is lowered to rest. As soon as this lever I1 is raised the weighted rod 22 depresses the short arm of lever 23. Consequently there is a slight knocking effect by this rod 22 on the disk 6 to agitate the straws thereon, and by this means is assured a positive movement of straws towards the center of the disk 6, one of which straws will gravitationally enter the center aperture of the disk as mentioned. I 1

It is to be understood that any slight modifications in the shape of the various parts of this device will not change the spirit and scope of the following claim. 1

, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In a drinking straw dispensing device as described, of the vertical straw-container type, to hold a plurality of tubular drinking straws for single straw-dispensing, and with a dome-shaped cover having a straw-passaging central aperture therethrough, resilient and flexible straw-retaining and straw-restraining bars projecting more or less horizontally into said aperture for suspension of any sized tubular drinking straw following its partial ejection therethrough, a strawcarrying disk dished slightly downwardly towards its center, and fitting loosely within the container in a more or less horizontal position, an apertured neck in the center of said disk projecting downwardly, and resting normally on a means of support within the straw container, a pair of rings fitted peripherally within and around the interior I of the container between which the said disk is supported on the said means of support within the straw container, its shorter arm supporting 'the tappet rod, and its longer arm being contacted by the gravitationally falling plunger means to agitate the said disk by the tappet rod for centralizing a single straw.

THEODORE R. REECE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 179,850 Frankish July 18,1876 1,034,318 Sobretto et a1 July 30, 1912 1,588,386 Young June 8, 1926 2,074,674 Sadjian Mar. 23, 193;? 2,251,489 Koziel Aug. 5, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,161 Great Britain of 1899 48,424 Austria June 10, 1911 

